1878.] 
401 
and the Sena Rajas of Ren gal. 
Buddhists, had become obsolete in Bengal, clearly shows that they were 
Hindus, and there is nothing to give rise to suspicion in the matter. 
In no part of the world could two such near neighbours as the Palas 
and the Senas, professing such antagonistic faiths as Buddhism and Hin¬ 
duism, co-exist without coming into hostile contact ; and in Bengal there 
is no reason to suppose that the case was otherwise than what has been 
elsewhere invariably the result of such neighbourhood. Even chiefs pro¬ 
fessing the same faith have not been noted for their amity to rivals, and 
we may therefore take it for granted that the Palas and the Senas fre¬ 
quently fell out with each other, until one expelled the other from the 
country. When this expulsion took place, it is at present impossible to 
determine with absolute precision. But materials are not wanting to show 
that this happened about the middle of the 11th century. It has been 
already shown that to the time of Mahi-pala, northern Bengal belonged to 
the Palas, and the Tarpandighi plate of Lakshmana Sena, and the preva¬ 
lence of that sovereign’s era in Tirhut to this day, incontestably prove that 
northern Bengal had come into the possession of the Senas before the com¬ 
mencement of the 12th century. Ballala, the father of Lakshmana, had the 
title of “ King of Gauda,” and that takes us to the 7th decade of the 11th 
century ; and in the Bhagulpur stone there is a verse which says “ Vijaya 
overthrew the king of Gauda.” The verse is somewhat involved in its 
construction, but the most obvious meaning appears to be the following : 
“ ‘ Thou hast no hero to conquer,’ said the bards. On hearing it, 
through a misconception (the words being susceptible of the meaning 
‘ thou hast conquered no hero’) the king overthrew the king of Gauda, 
subjugated the hero of Kamrupa and quickly conquered him of Ka- 
linga.”* At an average reign of 18 years Vijaya must have com¬ 
menced his reign in 1048. At an average of 20 years the date would be 
1046, the overthrow therefore must have taken place between 1046 and 
1055. As it is not likely that Mahi-pala’s reign had extended beyond 
1040, the event must have taken palace when Naya-pala, his successor, was 
the sovereign of Gauda. The Palas then receded from northern Bengal, 
and reigned for some time in the western districts of the kingdom, making 
Magadha or Mungher their caprital. 
The result of these remarks may be thus tabulated : 
Pala Kings. Sena Kings. 
In Western Sf Northern Bengal. In ^Eastern Sf Deltaic Bengal. 
I.- 
—Go-pala, . 
855 
I.—Vira Sena, . 
986 
II.- 
—Dharma-pala, , 
. 875 
II.—Samanta Sena,. 
1006 
IIP- 
—Deva-pmla, ... 
. 895 
III.—Hemanta Sena, 
1026 
* Ante , , XXXIV, 
p. 144. 
